Running your own business exerts a powerful attraction and provides a real ‘buzz’ for most entrepreneurs.

According to a monthly internet survey run by The University of Nottingham Institute for Enterprise and Innovation (UNIEI), respondents singled out the most exciting things about being in charge as: ‘control of one’s own destiny’, ‘success’, ‘freedom’, ‘challenge’, ‘satisfaction’, ‘profit’ and ‘winning’.

More than 70 per cent of business people taking part in the latest survey, named the UK Business Barometer, said they got a definite ‘buzz’ from entrepreneurship.

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Family ties are fuelling the UK economy’s engine room of SMEs.

According to new research by Tenon Forum, nearly six in 10 UK entrepreneurs involve a family member or members in their business in some capacity - with over a third as official employees and nearly one in six (13%) as investors. 

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The new FranchiseSales.com is now live!

Please feel free to have a look around and if there is anything at all you are unhappy with, let us know.

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The Wall Street Journal reports that it's now possible to meet with recruiters without actually showing up for a job interview.

Some employers are experimenting with Second Life, the online virtual community owned by San Francisco-based Linden Lab, to screen prospective hires. The program allows job seekers to create a computer-generated image to represent themselves - known as an "avatar" - and communicate with executives of prospective employers as though they were instant-messaging.

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Tony Blair's exit strategy has highlighted the importance of executing a smooth succession plan in UK businesses.

The failure to deal with the replacement of senior people professionally costs businesses millions of pounds a year, according to leading executive recruiters.

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Environmental issues are high up on the small business agenda.

Small business owners in the UK are becoming increasingly concerned about the environment, according to a YouGov survey commissioned by NetRegs, the government website that provides clear guidance on environmental regulations. 

The results of the survey, released today, found that nearly three quarters (74%) of the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) polled believe good environmental practice is important to small businesses, and nearly four fifths (79%) know more about environmental issues than they did five years ago.

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With the smoking ban five days away, not just the enjoyment of smokers that will suffer or the health of service industry staff that will benefit.

The ban will also have an effect on business. But which I industries will benefit and which will suffer?

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From Businessweek.com: Research the industry and customer expectations. Then define your business as narrowly as possible and get to work establishing your expertise.

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From bCentral: The government has set out proposals to assist small firms in the UK by condensing the number of business support schemes available from 3,000 to 100.

Over the course of a 12-week consultation period, the government will be absorbing the views from Regional Development Agencies, local authorities and the chambers of commerce to produce a more simple business support service.

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Joy and Spencer Rennie decided to up sticks and move abroad when their search for a business in the UK proved fruitless.

“We tried to buy a couple of B&Bs in the UK but we encountered lots of problems,” recalls Spencer, a former computer services manager.

“With one of the purchases they accepted our offer, but then someone else came along with cash and they didn’t give us a chance to come back to them.

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From Telegraph.co.uk: Young British entrepreneurs are launching a new website to house spare business ideas that can be developed by anyone that finds them interesting.

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Almost half of small businesses have been a victim of cyber crime, according to new research.

Forty four percent of small businesses in the UK have been a victim of cyber crime, including internet scams, identity fraud, phishing and data theft. This is one of the key findings of new research commissioned by Get Safe Online.

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From the San Diego Business Journal: Linda Byerline hates to admit that her business experience is self-taught.

She was a stay-at-home mom with a nursing background when she posted an image of an extra cloth diaper she had made for her daughter on eBay.

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A business plan can make or break your plan to start a business.

Graham Small is a partner at national law firm Lewis Hymanson Small.  He is often approached for advice by the owners of growing businesses seeking funding from their bank.  Here are his top tips for drawing up the perfect business plan.

I have seen countless business plans drawn up by business people seeking financial assistance, in one form or another, from their bank.

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MTV thinks it’s all that, but you’ll soon be able to ‘pimp up’ much more than people’s ‘rides’ thanks to a new venture courtesy of the ‘Ring Bling King’.

A series of roadshows are being held nationwide to market a gold-plating business opportunity.

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An Original Video DVD rental unit can gross £500 a week and take only 20 minutes a day to run, says Mitchell Leszczyszak, an account manager at the company.

And although not strictly a franchise, this opportunity, which can be operated from home, offers many of the same benefits.

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Be aware of changes around you if you want to succeed.

James Lea is a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as well as a nationally known family business speaker and author.

He writes in American Business Journals about how small businesses need to change over time to succeed and prosper.

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"Modernise or miss out" - that is the wake-up call issued by of the CEO of a global professional recruitment firm to the next generation of recruits.

Speaking today at the annual CBI Business Summit, Harvey Ellis says if UK business fails to do so, it risks losing it's competitive edge in the global economy.

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IT systems downtime causes serious problems for 90% of large UK companies.

Analysis of a study launched last week by Partners in IT (conducted by market research firm Dynamic Markets) has revealed that 80% of all companies surveyed admit to having a problem with downtime of their IT systems. 

Three quarters of non-IT business managers admit to spending, on average 12% of their time every week fire-fighting problems that are caused by their IT systems - equating to 31 full working days per year. Of these, 42% of managers specifically in the mid-market sector confessed that they spend 5% of their time each week addressing these problems - a figure that equates to approximately one day per month.

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The Companies Act 2006 is one of the biggest legal reforms ever faced by UK businesses.

The new legislations are coming into force as we speak, with October 2008 being the deadline for the majority of new law.

Are UK companies ready?

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